I'm attending the Simms "Ice Out" guide event next week in Bozeman, so I'm sure that this will be a topic of discussion. I think it's important to consider that all the time, but especially when your product/brand is in the news, having and keeping a great relationship with customers, vendors, and the general public is key.

Even though bad PR is PR, no-one want's their brand to be tarnished, especially in a niche industry like fly fishing, where competition drives innovation, quality, and perception.

I'll gladly report back what I hear, see, and experience first-hand from the event. Simms is a great brand with great products that I use both personally and professionally.

I can see being philosophically opposed to Costco. But I hate to break it to you, to most folks something being sold there doesn't tarnish the brand. "I can never look at Hormel the same again!" Because Costco carries them? No because Hormel has a horrible history in dealing with it's employees.

With all due respect to the roof rack company mentioned earlier, it's their Branding they are selling. Not their product. How many folks here complain about "lifestyle" companies like Harley Davidson, Gibson Guitar, etc.? The roof rack company is selling a "when only the best will do" lifestyle. Not a roof rack.

You oppose the big box concept? Again, fine, your choice. But when it comes down to protecting an image. Which is a carefully and expensively created lie anyway, protected by price fixing? Well, as they used to say " A little revolution is a good thing". Sage and Simms get some free sympathetic press. I mean c'mon, they are being talked about like they are the "little guys" getting pushed around by the big guys. Srsly?

I'm attending the Simms "Ice Out" guide event next week in Bozeman, so I'm sure that this will be a topic of discussion. . . . I'll gladly report back what I hear, see, and experience first-hand from the event. Simms is a great brand with great products that I use both personally and professionally.

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None of us are very good at predicting the future. But I'll go out on a limb and predict that what you'll be reporting back is more of what's already been regurgitated here: rogue distributors; big, bad Costco; top-quality brand image; protecting our valuable dealer relationships; blah, blah, blah.

What'd be refreshing to hear would be something along the lines of "We experimented with using Costco as a possible retail channel for discontinued or overstocked lines as we occasionally do with Sierra Online, but decided to abandon it due to adverse customer response."

Lotta forces at work here, kinda touchin close to home for some. Finding it pretty damn interesting to watch the view and post tally climb on this here thread. Seems to be a few camps, and to spare the ignorant, I am not going to specify which camps are posting. But wow, must be touchin a nerve even with the blind folk. This issue is a microcosm of our world, society, economics, environmental issues, politics blah, blah, and blah. Pretty interesting to me, is that there has been little intellect expressed on specifics from the usual suspects.

This issue changes lives, families, and futures. Not because its Simms, Sage and Costco and we shop and fish. But because, its been happening for decades, in every industry, and we are now seeing the end of an era. Hang on folks, gonna be a bumpy ride. Right now its just timely to fisherman near a Costco in the NW, and in your fishing neighborhood, but this is only a window to a bigger problem. Follow this process, and circumstance, backward 30-50 years, and forward to D.C. right this second. Don't be shy or foolish, go ahead keep looking, it leads straight to the evaporation of whats left of the salmon/steelhead waters in the CA delta, north to the selling off of Bristol Bay. Those are just a couple examples I thought might ring a bell in salmon country. This is much bigger than even that. Don't you find it interesting that little intelligent conversation is coming from a post with so much traffic. No comment yet on Buster, Moldy Chum, Trout Underground and the like. But google this topic and forum amateurs like you and me are talkin like crazy. Publicly, kinda awkwardly silent out there from the industry insiders and fisher-blogo-journo-thinko-comedians. While currently, D.C. decides if anyone can afford to pay my brother to stand in front of a bullet in Afghanistan, and I drove by a gas station today with prices well over $5/gal.

I offer no insight to this thread and I'm sorry to just up the count of useless posts. I don't have the right nor am I in the know, nor am I as good a writer as the talented folks who are taking a turn at creating a culture. But I gaaaaa-ron-teeeeeee this is bigger than a discount at Costco on your favorite luxury rubber pants.

Time to look at the bigger picture fellas. Time to shift some perspectives. Time to evaluate. Time to let the vanity go. If this makes no sense to you, please forgive, I'm trying not to to go where I hope the journalists are researching and typing away as we speak. Cuz they'll write it better than I'm thinkin it.

That would be because we're printing dollars anytime we feel like it. What is the currency that oil is linked to? So if we print more dollars, the dollar is worth less. So if folks who control the oil want their "money's worth", what must they do? It ain't rocket science...

My point then being made, even in my lack of ability to make it myself. I am not arguing with you, I think in essence we agree. So.... for the sake of clarity, why, may I ask, do you think the dollar is losing value? I mean, other than what you have stated... Let's go deeper. In your opinion, we are printing it to the effect of its own devaluation because..............?

My point then being made, even in my lack of ability to make it myself. I am not arguing with you, I think in essence we agree. So.... for the sake of clarity, why, may I ask, do you think the dollar is losing value? I mean, other than what you have stated... Let's go deeper. In your opinion, we are printing it to the effect of its own devaluation because..............?

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Hey, you clearly want to spread your gospel... I don't think too many here want to encourage you. I started this thread cuz I thought it was a hoot Sage and Simms were being sold at Costco :clown:

My point then being made, even in my lack of ability to make it myself. I am not arguing with you, I think in essence we agree. So.... for the sake of clarity, why, may I ask, do you think the dollar is losing value? I mean, other than what you have stated... Let's go deeper. In your opinion, we are printing it to the effect of its own devaluation because..............?

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So we can go to Costco and buy pro shop items cheaper! Did I win? Did I win? :clown:

Geez, I wish I could print my own money. Then I'd have enough to buy a new 4 wd. Then again, it would cost too much to fill it up......wait, I could barrow some money then pay them back with more when...I..printed some more!

My intent was not to present a gospel. I just truly feel for the families this type of situation continues to affect. I think with over 10,000 views there must be some realization that the true issue at hand is beyond the current price of rubber pants.

I sincerely apologize for dropping .02 on your thread, if that was an inappropriate concept to introduce Philster. Honestly.

Yeah, Scott remains one rod company that has kept its distribution only at the pro-shop level. They did go to Cabela's for a short period but now I believe they strictly use professional fly shops as their only point of sales.

My intent was not to present a gospel. I just truly feel for the families this type of situation continues to affect. I think with over 10,000 views there must be some realization that the true issue at hand is beyond the current price of rubber pants.

I sincerely apologize for dropping .02 on your thread, if that was an inappropriate concept to introduce Philster. Honestly.

Justin

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Justin, I hope you know that I think you're right about this. I was mocking our government.